Conveyer-coupling means



Juny 17, 1923. M624@ l F. B. CALDWELL CONVEYER COUPLIIING MEANS Filed Aug. 19 1921 STT'RS 'lflttgttl FRANK B. CALDWELL, 0F OAK PARK, ILLINOIS,`ASSIGNOR TO H. W. CALDWELL @t SON COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CONVEYER-COUPLING MEANS.

Application filed August 19, 1921. Serial No. 493,602.

T 0 all 'whom t may con-cern Be it known that I, FRANK B. CALDWELL, a citizen ot the United States, residing at Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveyer-Coupling Means, of which the following is a specilica-` tion.

My invention relates to an arrangement of gearing and casing members for helical conveyers whereby twol conveyer members arranged at a right angle may be coupled to convey material around the angle, as tor instance around two sides of a room. It two conveyer shafts lying in the same horizontal plane, are coupled byfmea-ns of ordinary outwardly facing bevel gears it is necessary to provide a connecting channel of appreciable length extending diagonally across the space hack of the apex of the gearsthat is, on the inside of the angle formed by the conveyer troughs-and force the material therethrough, such channel itself being provided with no means for propelling the material. This arrangement in some cases is used, but is inefficient and objectionable, and under some circumstances and with some materials is impracticable. In other cases one conveyer trough has been arranged to discharge the material into a trough arranged at right angles at a lower level, but it is often desirable that the material shall be carried around the angle at the saine level, and in such cases this arrangement will not answer. My present invention is designed to provide means for eiiiciently conveying material ifrom the end 'of one conveyer trough to and through a second trough on practically the same level and at a right angle to the first trough, thus obviating the disadvantages of the previously known arrangements above mentioned. With this object and incidental advantages in the construction and arrangement of parts in view, I have Vdesigned and invented the conveyer coupling and driving mechanism illustratedV in the accompanying drawings and hereinafter described in detail, the essential elements of my invention being more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 of the drawing shows in perspective the end portions oftwo spiral conveyers provided with my novely coupling mechanism; Fig. 2 is a. perspective of a cover plate for the mechanism, inverted; Fig. 3 is a, section in a vertical plane indicated by the dotted line 3-3 of Fig. l; and Fig. 4; is an outside tace view ot the casing ot the coupling, viewed at right angles to the posit-ion oi' the parts as shown in Fig. 3.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures ot the drawing.

The conveyer troughs l--la and spiral conveyers 2-2a are of usual construction, except as to the manner of their connection with each other. The connecting structure, which is disposed in the outside angle between the ends of the troughs, consists ot a casing formed with bearingsetor the two conveyer shafts and inclosing gearing connecting them, and a passageway Jfor the material connecting the two troughs and adapted to receive the terminal portions ot the two spiral conveyer blades. This casing may conveniently7 consist of a lower member 3 formed with base flanges 4: for attachment to the floor and side flanges 5 by means of which the ianged end members o the trough may be secured to it. and of an upper or cover member which will later be referred to again. Extending inwardly into the casing in alignment with the troughs l and l are curved walls which torni ineffect eXtensions oiz such troughs marked respectively 6 and 7 the outer sides ot these walls extending towards and meeting an oblique wall portion so as to form a generally diagonal partition separating a continuous passageway between the troughs from a gear compartment.

This partition is formed with the diametrical lower half of a bearing for the shaft 8 of the conveyer l and a. similar bearing for the shaft 9 of the conveyor 2a, the upper portions of the bearings both being formed in a partition section 10 seated upon the lower portion of the partition and the bearing parts formed in it. The shaft 8. it will be observed lies closely over the shaft 9. and the bottoms and adjacent portions of the passageway between the troughs l and 1a are therefore stepped or oiiset to the extent of the diameter ot the shafts.

Between the partition wall just described and the outer wall of the casingis arranged n pinion 11 secured to the shaft 8, and similarly arranged and secured to the shaft 9 is a pinion l2. the two pinions being formed with linclined intermeslhing teeth" Oli tition and outer casing wall are provided with bushings".

The compartment of the casing member which receives the plmons is enclosed by the cover 13 hereinbeforementioned, seeFig 2, which may conveniently be secured to the casing by means of the bolts let through which the capsvfor the outer bearings arc clamped to the bearing members below them.

t' will be noted that the eu'ipl'oyinent of skew gearing on the terminal portionsof the crossed shafts outside the passageway for the material leaves the conveyor troughs entirely' iuiobstructedI except for the conveyer shafts, and the space between theends of the two blades in which the material must changev the' direction of its travel lies substantially with-in the' quadrant of a solid angle and is the shortest and most direct passage possible. Thedr'op dueto the crossing of the eonveyer shaftsis advantageous in the very shortl direct turn' made by the material, but is so slight as nottoaffect-the substantiallyhorizontal arrangement of the conveyer troughs. i

Iclaim'z' Vl'. vMeans for connecting horizontal screw conveyersl arrfangedi at right anglesv andfhaving overlapping shafts comprising a passage'wayI traversed by saidl shafts and connecting the conveyer'troughs, and gearing `on thefends of said-shafts outside said passageway 2.- Means for connecting horizontal screw conveyers'arranged atright angles and havingy overlapping shafts' comprising a passageway traversed by said shafts and con ne'eting thel conveyer troughs, andskew to receive the end portions of the conveyer blades.

5. Mechanism according toY claim 3 for connecting screw conveyers in which said casing is formed with apartition wall between said passageway and said gear-coinpartment and said gear compartment is equipped with a cover.Y p

6. Mechanism according to claim 3 for connecting screw conveyers` in which said casing is formed with a; partitionwall formed withbearings for said shafts.

7.*Mechanism according to claimA 3 for connecting screw conveyers .in which said casing is formed with an obliquely disposed partition wall formed with semicylindrical bearings for both saidf shaft and a common cap` piece forming a section of saidlpartition is securedto-` saidv bearing partsn 8. Mechanism according to claim 3 for connectingpscrew conveversA in which said ,c

casing is formed with a partitionrwall betweensaid passageway and said geary corn- Dartmentand in which said shafts have bearings both in said partition and in th outer wall of saidl casing. y

FRANK Bf CALDWELL. 

